Editing Anti-Arab racism (section)

===Iran===
{{See also|Iranian Arabs|Anti-Iranian sentiment|Arab separatism in Khuzestan}}

[[Human rights]] group [[Amnesty International]] says that in practice, Arabs are among a number of ethnic minorities that are disadvantaged and suffer discrimination by the authorities.<ref name="dire human rights">{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/76000/mde130102006en.pdf|title=Iran: New government fails to address dire human rights situation|work=Amnesty International|date=February 16, 2006|access-date=October 18, 2016}}</ref> [[Separatist]] tendencies in [[Khuzestan]] exacerbate this. How far the situation facing Arabs in Iran is related to racism or simply a result of policies suffered by all Iranians is a matter of debate (''see: [[Politics of Khuzestan]]''). Iran is a multi-ethnic society with its Arab minority mainly located in the south.<ref>Perry–Castañeda Library Map Collection, [http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/iran_ethnoreligious_distribution_2004.jpg ''Iran ethnoreligious distribution 2004''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070911193900/http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/iran_ethnoreligious_distribution_2004.jpg |date=September 11, 2007 }}, [[The University of Texas]] at Austin, 2004</ref>

It is claimed by some that anti-Arabism in Iran may be related to the notion that Arabs forced some [[Persian people|Persians]] to convert to [[Islam]] in 7th century [[AD]] (''See: [[Muslim conquest of Persia]]'').{{weasel inline|date=October 2016}} Author [[Richard Foltz]] in his article "Internationalization of Islam" states "Even today, many Iranians perceive the Arab destruction of the [[Sassanid Empire]] as the single greatest tragedy in Iran's long history.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=[[Encarta]] |first=Richard |last=Foltz |author-link=Richard Foltz |title=Internationalization of Islam |url=http://encarta.msn.com/sidebar_1741575641/Internationalization_of_Islam.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091101121221/http://encarta.msn.com/sidebar_1741575641/Internationalization_of_Islam.html |archive-date=November 1, 2009 |url-status=dead |df=mdy }}</ref> Following the [[Muslim conquest of Persia]], many Iranians (also known as "[[mawali]]") came to despise the [[Umayyad dynasty|Umayyads]] due to discrimination against them by their Arab rulers. The [[Shu'ubiyah]] movement was intended to reassert Iranian identity and resist attempts to impose Arab culture while reaffirming their commitment to Islam.

More recently, anti-Arabism has arisen as a consequence of aggression against Iran by the regime of [[Saddam Hussein]] in [[Iraq]]. During a visit to Khuzestan, which has most of Iran's Arab population, a British journalist, John R. Bradley, wrote that despite the fact that the majority of Arabs supported Iran in the war, "ethnic Arabs complain that, as a result of their divided loyalties during the [[Iran–Iraq War]], they are viewed more than ever by the clerical regime in Tehran as a potential [[fifth column]], and suffer from a policy of discrimination."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/786/re7.htm |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20060321185923/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/786/re7.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2006-03-21 |first=John |last=Bradley |publisher=Al-Ahram Weekly |title=Ethnicity versus theocracy}}</ref> However, Iran's Arab population played an important role in defending Iran during the Iran-Iraq War and most refused to heed Saddam Hussein's call for an uprising and instead fought against their fellow Arabs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iranchamber.com/history/iran_iraq_war/iran_iraq_war1.php |title=Iran-Iraq War 1980–1988 |work=History of Iran |publisher=Iran Chamber Society}}</ref> Furthermore, Iran's former defense minister [[Ali Shamkhani]], a [[Khuzestan]]i Arab, was chief commander of the ground force during the Iran-Iraq War as well as serving as first deputy commander of the [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]].

The Arab minority of southern Iran has been subject to discriminations, persecution in Iran.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article666792.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070220024643/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article666792.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 20, 2007|location=London|work=The Times|title=Tehrans secret war against its own people|first=Peter|last=Tatchell|date=October 10, 2006|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In a report published in February 2006, Amnesty International stated that the "Arab population of Iran is one of the most economically and socially deprived in Iran" and that Arabs have "reportedly been denied state employment under the ''gozinesh'' [job placement] criteria."
{{Blockquote|text=Furthermore, land [[Nationalization|expropriation]] by the Iranian authorities is reportedly so widespread that it appears to amount to a policy aimed at dispossessing Arabs of their traditional lands. This is apparently part of a strategy aimed at the forcible relocation of Arabs to other areas while facilitating the transfer of non-Arabs into Khuzestan and is linked to economic policies such as zero-interest loans which are not available to local Arabs.|author=Amnesty International|source=<ref name="dire human rights"/>}}

Critics of such reports have pointed out that they are often based on sketchy sources and are not always to be trusted at face value (see: [[Politics of Khūzestān Province#Human rights|Criticism of human rights reports on Khuzestan]]). Furthermore, critics point out that Arabs have social mobility in Iran, with a number of famous Iranians from the worlds of arts, sport, literature, and politics having Arab origins (see: [[List of Iranian Arabs|Iranian Arabs]]) illustrating Arab-Iranian participation in Iranian economics, society, and politics. They contend that Khuzestan province, where most of Iran's Arabs live, is actually one of the more economically advanced provinces of Iran, more so than many of the Persian-populated provinces.

Some critics of the Iranian government contend that it is carrying out a policy of anti-Arab [[ethnic cleansing]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cafebabel.com/en/article.asp?T=A&Id=1626 |title=Ahmanidejad's Jihad |last=Casaca |first=Paulo |author-link=Paulo Casaca |date=2006-01-19 |publisher=Café Babel |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060524042325/http://www.cafebabel.com/en/article.asp?T=A&Id=1626 |archive-date=May 24, 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://zope06.v.servelocity.net/hjs/sections/middleeast/document.2006-03-07.9070964039 |title=While the West fiddles, Iran's people... |last=Frampton |first=Martyn |date=2006-03-07 |publisher=[[Henry Jackson Society]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070901231253/http://zope06.v.servelocity.net/hjs/sections/middleeast/document.2006-03-07.9070964039 |archive-date=September 1, 2007 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> While there has been large amounts of investment in industrial projects such as the ''Razi Petrochemical Complex'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://branch.isna.ir/mainkhouzestan/PicView.aspx?Pic=Pic-40262-1 |title= ISNA - PicView|website=branch.isna.ir |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080318184638/http://branch.isna.ir/mainkhouzestan/PicView.aspx?Pic=Pic-40262-1 |archive-date=March 18, 2008}}</ref> local universities,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ajums.ac.ir/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041011070206/http://ajums.ac.ir/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2004-10-11 |title=دانشگاه علوم پزشکی و خدمات درمانی جندی شاپور اهواز |publisher=Ajums.ac.ir |access-date=2009-07-07 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cua.ac.ir/ |title=welcome to cua.ac.ir |publisher=Cua.ac.ir |access-date=2009-07-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080109075935/http://www.cua.ac.ir/ |archive-date=January 9, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.put.ac.ir/WebUI/uniform/Default.aspx |archive-url=https://archive.today/20061214154335/http://www.put.ac.ir/WebUI/uniform/Default.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=2006-12-14 |title=دانشگاه صنعت نفت |publisher=Put.ac.ir |access-date=2009-07-07}}</ref> and other national projects such as [[hydroelectric dam]]s (such as the [[Karkheh Dam]], which cost $700 million to construct) and nuclear power plants,<ref>{{cite news |title=Iran to build new nuclear plant |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4498932.stm |publisher=BBC | date=2005-12-05 | access-date=2010-01-01}}</ref> many critics of Iran's economic development policies have pointed to the poverty suffered by Arabs in Khuzestan as proof of an anti-Arab policy agenda. Following his visit to Khuzestan in July 2005, [[UN Special Rapporteur]] for Adequate Housing Miloon Kothari spoke of how up to 250,000 Arabs had been displaced by such industrial projects and noted the favorable treatment given to settlers from [[Yazd]] compared to the treatment of local Arabs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2004/02/10/civic-umbrella-body-highlight-plight-basarwa|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070116150201/http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=48518|url-status=dead|title=Civic umbrella body to highlight plight of the Basarwa|date=February 10, 2004|archive-date=January 16, 2007|website=The New Humanitarian}}</ref>

However, it is also true that non-Arab provinces such as [[Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province]], [[Sistan and Baluchestan Province]], and neighboring [[Īlām Province]] also suffer high levels of poverty, indicating that government policy is not disadvantaging Arabs alone but other regions, including some with large ethnically Persian populations. Furthermore, most commentators agree that Iran's state-controlled and highly subsidized economy<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iran-daily.com/1384/2415/html/focus.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20060322163054/http://www.iran-daily.com/1384/2415/html/focus.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2006-03-22 |title=Economic Focus |date=2005-11-01 |publisher=[[Islamic Republic News Agency]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Agence France-Presse |title=Iran on rough road to WTO membership |url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=3&article_id=15634 |newspaper=[[Daily Star (Lebanon)|The Daily Star]] |date=2005-06-04 |author-link=Agence France-Presse |access-date=May 25, 2006 |archive-date=September 29, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929121620/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=3&article_id=15634 |url-status=dead }}</ref> is the main reason behind the inability of the Iranian government to generate economic growth and welfare at ground levels in all cities across the nation, rather than a state ethnic policy targeted specifically at Arabs; Iran is ranked 156th on [[The Heritage Foundation]]'s 2006 [[Index of Economic Freedom]].

In the Iranian education system, after primary education cycle (grades 1-5 for children 6 to 11 years old), passing some [[Arabic]] courses is mandatory until the end of secondary education cycle (grade 6 to Grade 12, from age 11 to 17). In higher education systems (universities), passing Arabic language courses is selective.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iran-embassy-oslo.no/embassy/educat.htm |title=Iranian embassy information page |publisher=Iran-embassy-oslo.no |access-date=2009-07-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609234100/http://www.iran-embassy-oslo.no/embassy/educat.htm |archive-date=June 9, 2009 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://edu.tebyan.net/textbooks/0084/index.htm |title=Iranian book of Arabic education |publisher=Edu.tebyan.net |access-date=2009-07-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090604022905/http://edu.tebyan.net/textbooks/0084/index.htm |archive-date=June 4, 2009 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

Persians use slurs like "Tazi Kaseef" (lit. ''Dirty Taazi''), "Arabe malakh-khor" (عرب ملخ‌خور) (lit. ''Locust-eater Arab''),<ref name="Rahimieh2015">{{cite book|last=Rahimieh|first=Nasrin|title=Iranian Culture: Representation and Identity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JtpzCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA133|access-date=October 18, 2016|year=2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-42935-7|page=133}}</ref><ref name="economist1">{{cite news|title=Persians v Arabs: Same old sneers|url=http://www.economist.com/node/21554238|newspaper=The Economist|date=May 5, 2012|access-date=October 18, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Majd2008">{{cite book|author=Hooman Majd|title=The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1kuSfuHovwMC&pg=PA165|date=23 September 2008|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-385-52842-9|page=165}}</ref><ref name="Daryaee2012">{{cite journal |first=Touraj |last=Daryaee |author-link=Touraj Daryaee |url=http://tourajdaryaee.com/wp-content/uploads/Daryaee-Food-Zoro.pdf |title=Food, Purity and Pollution: Medieval Zoroastrian Views on the Eating Habits of the Arabs and Indians |journal=Iranian Studies |volume=45 |issue=2 |doi=10.1080/00210862.2011.617157 |date=March 2012 |access-date=October 18, 2016 |pages=229–242 |s2cid=161684767 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011145021/http://tourajdaryaee.com/wp-content/uploads/Daryaee-Food-Zoro.pdf |archive-date=October 11, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="rferl.org">{{cite news|first=Frud |last=Bezhan |url=http://www.rferl.org/a/iran-racism-arab-persian-assault-case/26955610.html |title=Alleged Assault On Iranian Teens Stokes Anti-Arab Sentiment |publisher=Rferl.org |date=April 14, 2015 |access-date=October 18, 2016}}</ref> "soosmar-khor" (سوسمارخور) (''lizard eater''<ref name="rferl.org"/>) and call Arabs "پابرهنه" (lit. ''barefoot''), "بی‌تمدن" (lit. ''uncivilized''), "وحشی" (lit. ''barbarians'') and "زیرصحرایی" (lit ''sub-saharan''). Anti-Islamist government Persians refer to Persian Islamic Republic supporters from Hezbollahi families as Arab-parast (عرب‌پرست) (lit. ''Arab Worshipper''). Arabs use slurs against Persians by calling them ''Fire-worshipers'' and ''majoos'', "[[Majus]]" (مجوس) ([[Zoroastrians]], [[Magi]]).

Negative views Persians have of Arabs include eating habits such as Arabs [[Uromastyx#Consumption by humans|eating lizards]].<ref name="O'Donnell1980">{{cite book|author=Terence O'Donnell|title=Garden of the brave in war|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cl8uAQAAIAAJ&q=lizards|year=1980|publisher=Ticknor & Fields|isbn=978-0-89919-016-7|page=19}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/opinion/06sadjapour.html|title=Arabs Rise, Tehran Trembles|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=March 5, 2011 |access-date=2016-01-07|last1=Sadjadpour |first1=Karim }}</ref><ref name="Sciolino2001">{{cite book|author=Elaine Sciolino|title=Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T7QYk48OPqYC&q=uncivilized+people+who+went+about+unclothed+and+ate+lizards.&pg=PA170|date=25 September 2001|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-0-7432-1779-8|pages=170–}}</ref><ref name="Rajaee1997">{{cite book|author=Farhang Rajaee|title=Iranian Perspectives on the Iran-Iraq War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BABAZqVgfq0C&q=uncivilized+people+who+went+about+unclothed+and+ate+lizards.&pg=PA75|year=1997|publisher=University Press of Florida|isbn=978-0-8130-1476-0|pages=75–}}</ref><ref name="Tahir-KheliAyubi1983">{{cite book|author1=Shirin Tahir-Kheli|author2=Shaheen Ayubi|title=The Iran-Iraq War: New Weapons, Old Conflicts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jt5tAAAAMAAJ&q=uncivilized+people+who+went+about+unclothed+and+ate+lizards.|year=1983|publisher=Praeger|isbn=978-0-03-062906-8|page=71}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/opinions/arabs_rise_tehran_trembles |title=Arabs rise, Tehran trembles |website=Now.mmedia.me |access-date=2016-01-07 |archive-date=January 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111173035/https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/opinions/arabs_rise_tehran_trembles |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://en.alalamalislami.com/node/28699 |title=Islamic Revival and Middle East Social Revolution &#124; AL-ALAM AL-ISLAMI |website=En.alalamalislami.com |access-date=2016-01-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111173035/http://en.alalamalislami.com/node/28699 |archive-date=January 11, 2016 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

In Iran, there is a saying, ''The Arab of the desert eats locusts, while the dogs of Isfahan drink ice-cold water.'' ({{lang|fa|عرب در بیابان ملخ میخورد سگ اصفهان آب یخ میخورد}}).<ref name="Daryaee2012"/> In Iran "to be outright Arab" ({{lang|fa|از بیخ عرب بودن}}) means "to be a complete idiot".<ref name="FischerAbedi1990">{{cite book|author1=Michael M. J. Fischer|author2=Mehdi Abedi|title=Debating Muslims: Cultural Dialogues in Postmodernity and Tradition|url=https://archive.org/details/debatingmuslimsc0000fisc|url-access=registration|quote=the Arabs of the desert eat locusts while the dogs of Isfahan.|year=1990|publisher=Univ of Wisconsin Press|isbn=978-0-299-12434-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/debatingmuslimsc0000fisc/page/180 180]}}</ref>

Relations are uneasy between specifically Iran and the Persian Gulf Arab countries in particular.<ref>{{cite news |date=2007-12-19 |title=  Iran and the Arabs Friendlier hands across the Gulf Old suspicions and new links|url=http://www.economist.com/node/10328285 |newspaper=The Economist |location=Cairo  }}</ref> Persians and Arabs [[Persian Gulf naming dispute|dispute the name of the Persian Gulf]].<ref>{{cite news |date=2010-03-09|title=  The Gulf All latest updates What's in a name? Call it Persian—or else |url=http://www.economist.com/node/15657199 |newspaper=The Economist |location=Cairo  }}</ref> The [[Greater and Lesser Tunbs]] are disputed between the two countries.<ref name="economist1"/> A National Geographic reporter who interviewed Iranians reported that many of them frequently said ''We are not Arabs!" "We are not terrorists!"''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/print/2008/08/iran-archaeology/del-giudice-text |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080721143840/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/print/2008/08/iran-archaeology/del-giudice-text |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 21, 2008 |title=National Geographic Magazine - NGM.com |website=Ngm.nationalgeographic.com |date=2012-05-15 |access-date=2016-01-07}}</ref>

The Iranian rap artist Behzad Pax released a song in 2015 called "Arab-Kosh" (عرب‌كش) (Arab-killer) which was widely reported on the Arab media who claimed that it was released with the approval of the [[Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance (Iran)|Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance]]. The Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance denied that it gave approval to the song and condemned it as a product of a "sick mind".<ref>{{cite web |date=2015-08-19 |url=http://www.alalam.ir/news/1730791 |title=وزارة الثقافة الايرانية: أغنية "عرب كُش" غير مرخصة قانونيا |website=Alalam.ir |access-date=2016-01-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206125700/http://www.alalam.ir/news/1730791 |archive-date=February 6, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>